See also

An IPython notebook version of this tutorial can be downloaded here:

spi_rack.ipynb

SPI Rack driver

In this tutorial we explain basic usage of the modular SPI Rack drivers provided by the Qblox instruments package. The driver is based on the programming interface provided by SPI-rack.

In order to connect to the SPI Rack driver:

from qblox_instruments import SpiRack

# In our case the SPI Rack is connected to COM port 4
spi = SpiRack('SPI Rack', 'COM4')

Connected to: Qblox SPI Rack (serial:None, firmware:{'device': 'v1.6 - May 10 2019 - mt', 'driver': {'version': '0.3.2', 'date': '21/04/2021-16:38:33', 'hash': '0x94E811E5', 'dirty': False}}) in 0.00s

To verify everything is working correctly we can read out the temperature of the C1b module

spi.temperature()

23.75

Connecting to S4g

Next, we need to add the modules to our driver. We will be using a S4g module for this tutorial.

spi.add_spi_module(2, "S4g")

The S4g module we added can now be accessed through spi.module2. Let’s try setting an output current:

spi.module2.dac0.current(1e-3)

This sets the output current of dac0 (output 1) to 1 mA. We can read this current back through:

spi.module2.dac0.current()

0.0009998321533203139

Now we will change the output range.

spi.module2.dac1.span()

'range_max_bi'

We see that the span of DAC channel 1 is set to the default 'range_max_bi' (corresponding to -40 to +40 mA), changing this works similar to how we change the current.

spi.module2.dac1.span('range_min_bi')
spi.module2.dac1.span()

'range_min_bi'

Now we updated the range to the smaller -20 to +20 mA range. We will now set all output values back to zero using the convenient set_dacs_zero function.

spi.module2.dac0.current()

0.0009998321533203139

spi.set_dacs_zero()

spi.module2.dac0.current()

0.0

Connecting to D5a

Connecting to the D5a module works the same way as the S4g. Instead of the default name module1, let’s give this D5a an alias and call it alice

spi.add_spi_module(1, "D5a", "alice")

spi.alice.dac0.voltage(1.0)
spi.alice.dac0.voltage()

1.0

spi.set_dacs_zero()
spi.alice.dac0.voltage()

0.0

Similar to the S4g, the D5a also has a span that can be set.

Supported settings are: 'range_4V_uni', 'range_4V_bi' and 'range_2V_bi'.

spi.alice.dac0.span()

'range_4V_bi'

Extending the SPI module drivers

It is possible to use custom drivers for the SPI modules within the SPI rack driver provided by qblox-instruments. Any class that inherits from SpiModuleBase is accepted by the spi rack driver. The driver can be added as a module by passing a reference to the class instead of the usual string.

As an example, we will add the DummySpiModule to the SPI Rack.

from qblox_instruments.qcodes_drivers.spi_rack_modules import DummySpiModule

spi.add_spi_module(3, DummySpiModule, "bob")

Closing the instrument

Finally, we will close the connection to the instrument.

spi.close()